SOUTH TANGERANG, Indonesia: Indonesian police shot dead six suspected terrorists and arrested another in a New Year's Eve raid near the capital that broke out into an hours-long gun battle, police said Wednesday.

A police squad led by the counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 Tuesday evening surrounded a house in South Tangerang city, on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, where there was a gathering of suspected militants, National Police spokesman Ronny Sompie said.

"We told them to surrender but they resisted. They shot at police and we had to open fire. The operation ended only early this morning," Sompie told AFP, saying the shootout lasted hours.

"They are suspected of being involved in several terror activities in 2013, including the shooting of police officers," he said.

Police seized explosive materials and firearms from the house, Sompie said, confirming that six men had been killed and one was arrested.

Police said the men were connected to Abu Roban, a suspected militant who was killed in an anti-terror raid in May 2013 and previously led a religious-study group in Tangerang.

The men targeted in the raid are suspected of orchestrating an attack on a Buddhist temple last August, where a low-intensity bomb went off and lightly injured one person, Sompie said.

About 6,500 police have been deployed for security on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Jakarta and surrounding areas.

Indonesia has been rocked by several deadly terror attacks over the past decade, including the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

Since then the country has waged a long crackdown on terrorism, dismantling some of the deadliest networks, and only low-impact attacks have been executed.

Police officers have become the main target for some active terror groups. -AFP

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Wednesday the Korean peninsula would be engulfed by "massive nuclear disaster" if war breaks out there again, warning the US it will not be safe in the event of a conflict.

"If the war breaks out again in this land, it will bring about a massive nuclear disaster and the US will never be safe," Kim said in his New Year message, broadcast on state TV.

"We are faced with a dangerous situation in which a small, accidental military clash can lead to an all-out war," he said.

Kim added he would not beg for peace and vowed to protect the impoverished but nuclear-armed North with strong self-defence measures against enemies.

The young leader also hailed the recent execution of his powerful uncle as a "resolute action," labelling Jang Song-Thaek "scum".

"Our party took resolute action to remove... scum elements within the party last year," Kim said, accusing Jang of trying to build his own powerbase within the ruling party.

The actor is reportedly being courted to play the superhero in 'Batman vs. Superman.

ACCORDING to Nukethefridge.com, Warner Bros has its sights on Denzel Washington for the role of John Stewart, an ordinary man who becomes a member of the intergalactic police known as the Green Lanterns.

If he accepts the role, Washington will follow in the footsteps of Ryan Reynolds, the Canadian actor who played Hal Jordan, another Green Lantern, in the 2011 film on the superhero.

Wonder Woman, to be played by Gal Gadot, is the only other superhero whose appearance alongside the titular characters of Batman vs. Superman has been officially confirmed. Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill will portray the superheroes of Gotham City and Metropolis, facing off against one another for the first time. Zack Snyder will direct the blockbuster, which is slated to arrive in theatres in mid-July 2015. – AFP Relaxnews

The actor is reportedly being courted to play the superhero in 'Batman vs. Superman.

ACCORDING to Nukethefridge.com, Warner Bros has its sights on Denzel Washington for the role of John Stewart, an ordinary man who becomes a member of the intergalactic police known as the Green Lanterns.

If he accepts the role, Washington will follow in the footsteps of Ryan Reynolds, the Canadian actor who played Hal Jordan, another Green Lantern, in the 2011 film on the superhero.

Wonder Woman, to be played by Gal Gadot, is the only other superhero whose appearance alongside the titular characters of Batman vs. Superman has been officially confirmed. Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill will portray the superheroes of Gotham City and Metropolis, facing off against one another for the first time. Zack Snyder will direct the blockbuster, which is slated to arrive in theatres in mid-July 2015. – AFP Relaxnews

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first reference to the execution of his powerful uncle in a New Year's address, saying the reclusive state's ruling party had become stronger after it was purged of "factional filth."

And he called for better relations with South Korea, warning that another war on the Korean peninsula would cause a massive nuclear disaster that would hit the United States.

Kim, the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, did not refer by name to his uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was executed last month in a rare public purge for crimes against the ruling Workers' Party and harming national interest.

"Our party took a firm measure to get rid of factional filth that permeated the party," Kim said in a broadcast on state television that appeared to be pre-recorded, without showing if he was speaking to an audience.

"Our unity strengthened hundredfold and party and revolutionary lines became more solid by purging the anti-party and anti-revolutionary faction," Kim said.

After the sudden death of Kim's father in December 2011, Jang acted as regent to his young nephew as Kim established himself in power. With the purge, Kim may have chosen to remove the only man who may have posed any real threat to him.

Kim's call for improved ties with the South followed a threat from Pyongyang last month that it could strike Seoul without notice.

"It is time to end abuse and slander that is only good for doing harm ... We will try hard to improve North-South ties," Kim said, adding that "dark clouds of nuclear war constantly hovered over the Korean peninsula".

"If there ever is once again war on this land, it will bring about an enormous nuclear disaster and the United States will not be spared from it," he said.

The two Koreas remain technically at war under a truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The United States maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea in joint defence against the North.

Robert Carlin, a contributor to 38 North, a project of John Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute, noted that so far Pyongyang's treatment of South Koran President Park Geun-hye had avoided the relentless personal attacks on her predecessor.

"Many times over the past 30 or 40 years, the two sides have started dialogue by agreeing to stop slander of the other," Carlin said.

"It's a relatively easy and verifiable first step. By raising it, Kim would appear to be signalling that he's prepared to start off with something concrete, if modest, in order to open the door."

CONSTRUCTION PLANS

State media reported on Tuesday that Kim rode on a ski lift at the Masik ski resort, a widely publicised public project where the North expects up to 5,000 skiers a day when it opens this year.

Kim has been pushing for massive projects throughout the country that go beyond the ski resort, pleasure parks and apartment blocks reported by state media, largely with the financial aid of its sole main ally China.

On Wednesday, he emphasized his eagerness to pursue more construction projects.

"This year, we should open up a new period of prosperity in construction. Construction is an important frontline to set grounds for the strong nation and people's happiness," he said.

(Additional reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Jack Kim and John Mair)

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's government and rebels are set for New Year's Day peace talks in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, to thrash out a ceasefire to end weeks of ethnic bloodletting in the world's newest state.

Both sides agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday, mediators said, but fighting between government troops and militias loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar raged in Bor, the capital of the vast Jonglei state and site of an ethnic massacre in 1991.

"I'm worried that the continued fighting in Bor might scupper the start of these talks," said Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom, who is chairman of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc that is mediating the talks.

"Hopefully both delegations will arrive tomorrow (Wednesday), start the talks and settle this problem once and for all," Adhanom told Reuters by phone from Addis Ababa.

Western and regional powers have pushed both sides to end the fighting that has killed at least 1,000 people, cut South Sudan's oil output and raised fears of a full-blown civil war in the heart of a fragile region.

It was not clear who controlled Bor on Tuesday night after a day of heavy fighting that started at dawn in the dusty town, which was held by Machar's rebels for a few days at the start of the conflict. Nearly 200,000 civilians have been displaced.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said ethnic-based atrocities, often carried out against civilians by uniformed men, have taken place throughout the newly independent South Sudan.

"This can lead to a perpetual cycle of violence that can destroy the fabric of the new nation," the United Nations warned in a statement. About 9,000 civilians are seeking refuge at the U.N. base in Bor.

The clashes erupted on December 15 with fighting among soldiers in Juba. The violence quickly spread to half of the country's 10

states, dividing the country along the ethnic lines of Machar's Nuer group and President Salva Kiir's Dinkas.

Kiir has accused his long-term political rival Machar, who he sacked in July, of starting the fighting in an effort to seize power.

Machar has denied the charge, but he has taken to the bush and has acknowledged leading soldiers battling the government. There have been conflicting reports on whether Machar was in full control of the Nuer "White Army" militia fighting in Bor, though on Tuesday he told the BBC they were part of his forces.

The White House pressured all sides to cease hostilities and allow humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians.

"The United States will deny support and work to apply international pressure to any elements that use force to seize power," White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement on Tuesday. "At the same time, we will hold leaders responsible for the conduct of their forces and work to ensure accountability for atrocities and war crimes."

The fighting has revived memories of the factionalism in the 1990s within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the group that fought Sudan's army in the north for two decades. Machar led a splinter faction and fighters loyal to him massacred Dinkas in Bor.

TALKS, "CATASTROPHIC" CONDITIONS

Both the government and the rebels said earlier on Tuesday that they were sending teams to start talks in neighbouring Ethiopia, though Machar told the BBC on Tuesday that he was not prepared to lay down weapons.

The U.S. special envoy to South Sudan, Donald Booth, said the commitment to send negotiators was an "important first step" towards a negotiated settlement.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Monday that East African countries had agreed to move in and defeat Machar if he rejected the ceasefire offer, threatening to turn the fighting into a regional conflict. No other countries have confirmed any such an agreement.

"The town is still partly in our hands and partly in the hands of the rebels," Mayor Nhial Majak Nhial told Reuters on Tuesday from the government's military headquarters inside Bor, 190 km (120 miles) north of Juba by road.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said about 70,000 civilians had fled Bor and sought refuge in the town of Awerial in neighbouring Lakes state, with no access to food, clean water or shelter. Others were hiding in swamps.

"Living conditions are verging on the catastrophic," MSF said.

According to United Nations figures, fighting across the country has displaced at least 180,000 people, including 75,000 who are seeking refuge inside U.N. bases.

The African Union said late on Monday it was dismayed and disappointed by the bloodletting that came two years after South Sudan won independence from its northern neighbour, Sudan.

The AU's Peace and Security Council said it would "take appropriate measures, including targeted sanctions, against all those who incite violence, including along ethnic lines, continue hostilities (and) undermine the envisaged inclusive dialogue."

RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia joined the euro zone on Wednesday, banking on its experience of austerity to bring it prosperity in a currency union where other economies have floundered.

The Baltic country of just 2 million people became the bloc's 18th member at midnight (2200 GMT), taking a step further out of the shadow of neighbouring Russia a decade after joining the European Union and NATO.

Latvia's acting prime minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, who led his country through its worst economic crisis since it left the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, said euro adoption was an opportunity, but not a guarantee of wealth, and the country should not relax its fiscal policy.

"It's not an excuse not to pursue a responsible fiscal and macroeconomic policy," he said after withdrawing the first euro banknote after midnight from a cash machine in Riga.

The euro switchover ceremony took place at a site where Latvia's crisis began - the former headquarters of the collapsed Parex bank, now headquarters of state-owned Citatele bank, which emerged from Parex's ruins.

Parex, the country's second-biggest bank by assets, went bust at end-2008, forcing the Baltic state to seek an international rescue to keep its currency, the lat, pegged to the euro at the same rate.

Its economy shrank by a quarter during 2008-2010, but then grew at the fastest pace in the EU, expanding by 5.6 percent in 2012, after the government slashed spending and wages and hiked taxes in one of the harshest austerity programs in Europe.

Latvia's efforts have won praise from EU policymakers, who have pointed numerous times to the Baltic state as an example that austerity can work.

"Thanks to these efforts ... Latvia will enter the euro area stronger than ever, sending an encouraging message to other countries undergoing a difficult economic adjustment," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday.

Still, a few concerns remain. The European Central Bank has warned Latvia that the high level of foreign deposits, mostly from Russia, in Latvian banks, as in Cyprus, was a risk factor.

Latvia also enters the euro zone without a permanent government after Dombrovskis resigned in December, taking political responsibility over a supermarket collapse in Riga that killed 54 people.

Latvia enters the euro zone as the single currency bloc marks its 15th anniversary, and the euro is now used by 333 million Europeans.

Even so, neighbouring Lithuania is the only remaining EU country showing much enthusiasm for euro admission after the temptations and strains of sharing a currency forced Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus to seek international bailouts for their government finances or their banks.

Estonia joined the euro zone in 2011, and Lithuania aims to do so in 2015.

Among the ex-Communist EU countries that have yet to adopt the euro, Croatia is stuck in recession while bigger economies such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have become reticent about currency union.

Latvia, which becomes the fourth smallest economy in the euro zone after Malta, Estonia and Cyprus, expects the euro to lower its borrowing costs and encourage investors by eliminating currency risk.

Both Standard & Poor's and Fitch have raised the country's credit ratings in anticipation of its euro entry.

But opinion polls show ordinary Latvians are divided on the euro's merits, with many worried that its adoption will be an excuse to raise prices.

"In all other countries which had switched to the euro, prices rose. Most likely, they will rise here as well, which is bad," said Oleg Bachurin, 62, a pensioner.

NEW YORK: Stocks closed out their best year in more than 15 on Tuesday, with major indexes advancing throughout 2013 on the back of the Federal Reserve's massive stimulus and expectations for accelerating growth going forward.

Wall Street ended 2013 with its positive momentum intact, advancing in its final trading day of the year on the back of positive consumer confidence data.

The S&P 500 rose 29.6 percent over the year, its best annual performance since 1997, while the Dow climbed 26.5 percent in its best year since 1995. The Nasdaq jumped 38.3 percent, its best year since 2009.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished the final trading day of 2013 at record closing highs.

In a sign of improving sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX> or VIX fell 23.9 percent over the year, the biggest annual drop for the so-called "fear index" since 2009.

All 10 S&P 500 sector indexes ended the year with gains as investors rode the Fed's extraordinary stimulus in a year that had only the slightest of hiccups. Wall Street even weathered a partial shutdown of the U.S. government, as well as the recent announcement that the Fed would trim its monthly bond purchases in response to an improving economic picture.

"This has been a terrific year, with all the concerns we had in January (2013) proving unfounded, and with current economic growth giving us a strong outlook for 2014," said John Carey, portfolio manager atPioneer Investment Management in Boston.

Trading volume was once again light in U.S. markets, which will be closed Wednesday for the New Year's holiday. Still, investors found reasons to buy after a read on consumer confidence rose more than expected in December.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.2 percent in October from September, but posted the strongest annualized gain in October in more than seven years.

"There's been a generally positive trend to news, including the confidence report, which bodes well for conditions next year and gives us really no reason to sell," said Carey, who helps oversee $220 billion in assets.

About 63 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher for the day, while 55 percent of the shares traded on the Nasdaq ended in positive territory.

The Dow also touched an all-time intraday high of 16,588.25 on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 set a record intraday peak of 1,849.44.

In the fourth quarter, the Dow rose 9.6 percent, the S&P 500 gained 9.9 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 10.7 percent. In December alone, the Dow advanced 3 percent, the S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq shot up 2.9 percent. It was the fourth straight monthly rally for all three.

Gains in the year were led by consumer discretionary stocks, with the sector index <.SPLRCD> up 40.4 percent. The sectors with the slimmest gains of the year - telecom <.SPLRCL>, which rose 6.6 percent, and utilities <.SPSMCU>, up 16.5 percent - are both considered defensive groups.

Among specific names, Netflix Inc <NFLX.O> was the S&P 500's biggest gainer, soaring 295.6 percent.Newmont Mining <NEM.N> was the index's biggest loser, falling 50.6 percent in 2013. Only 38 stocks in the S&P 500 ended the year in the red.

Few investors expect 2014 to deliver the same scale of returns. According to the most recent Reuters equity poll, the S&P 500 is seen rising to 1,925 by the end of 2014, which represents an upside of 4.1 percent from current levels.

In the corporate arena, Hertz Global Holdings Inc <HTZ.N> surged 10.5 percent to close at $28.62 after the company said it had adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan in response to "unusual and substantial activity" it has observed in its shares.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd <MRVL.O> jumped 4.5 percent to end at $14.38 after private equity firmKKR & Co LLP <KKR.N> reported a 6.8 percent stake in the chipmaker, according to a regulatory filing.

LONDON: Everton can resist any bids for highly-prized young England midfielder Ross Barkley when the January transfer window opens because they are in a strong financial position, manager Roberto Martinez said on Tuesday.

Barkley, who turned 20 this month, has been linked with a 50 million pounds ($82.63 million) move to Manchester United after a series of excellent displays which have helped lift Everton into the top four of the Premier League.

Speaking at his pre-match news conference before Wednesday's match at Stoke City, the Spaniard was asked if he was confident that the club could turn down approaches for the player.

Martinez said: "Yes. Absolutely. There is not even a doubt.

"He has a long-term contract and the first half of the season has been a real joy to see him grow and the second half of the season will be even better.

"We are in a strong position financially. When you have to bring in money then it can be a real difficult position as you can be anxious and frustrated.

"The stability we have from a financial point of view allows us to make football decisions and this January window is important for us to make sure we kick on and finish stronger than we started."

Barkley has not only become a first-team regular this season, he has also won his first England caps, playing three times, against Moldova, Chile and Germany.

Martinez has described him as a mix of Paul Gascoigne, the former England midfielder and Michael Ballack, the former Germany one, while his former Everton team mate Tim Cahill said he was the most talented player he had ever worked with.

TOUGH MATCH

He has played in 18 of Everton's 19 Premier League matches so far and scored with a brilliantly-executed late free kick in Everton's 2-1 win at Swansea City last week.

Everton are currently fourth in the table and could climb to third if Chelsea lose at Southampton and they win at Stoke whose form at home has been in stark contrast to their away performances.

Stoke lost 5-1 at Newcastle United and 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur over Christmas and have the worst away record in the Premier League, but 16 of their 21 points have come at home where they have lost once in nine games.

Martinez expects a tough match at the Britannia, telling reporters: "You look at their last two results, there was a freak performance against Newcastle and that affected them going into Spurs.

"Stoke at home are unbeaten in their last six. They have won their last two. When they play at the Britannia they are an extremely difficult team.

"We know what we are facing and we need to be at our best and fully recovered. I expect a very difficult game tomorrow."

Having lost only two games so far this season, the fewest in the Premier League, Martinez is pleased with Everton's progress.

"It's been a very good start. Halfway through is a good landmark to assess where we are and we have 37 points which is significant," he said.

"But the most important aspect is how we got those 37 points. It's not been a matter of being lucky or fortunate in key moments - it's the opposite.

"We have had the lowest amount of defeats and the draws we have had, they were probably closer to victories.

"The performances we have had at very special places - like Old Trafford, the Emirates and the Liberty Stadium - gives us great excitement going into the second half of the season."

PETALING JAYA: The Government's initiative to cut costs on 11 fronts is a good move but it needs to do more to convince people that it is reducing expenditure for the benefit of the people, said Fomca.

Its secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj said in light of the expected increase in prices of goods, the people needed to see the government visibily reducing expenditure.

"We support the Government measure to cut expenditure but more must be done.

"For example, the process of tender should be more transparent to win back the people's confidence," he said.

He was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Ra­zak's announcement that the Government would implement 11 measures to slash spending.

"The Government should show that money collected through taxes and revenues is being spent for the benefit of the people.

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) wants revellers to enjoy the New Year Eve's celebrations at Dataran Merdeka and is urging the people to work with it rather than against it.

"Follow the authorities' instructions to make the New Year celebrations a smooth, happy and peaceful event," said Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib.

Ahmad Phesal said organisers of a planned gathering to protest the high cost of living had not officially notified DBKL.

He said 300 enforcement officers would be stationed at Dataran Merdeka and another 80 at City Hall during the event.

DBKL has planned a concert featuring local celebrities, a food bazaar and a fireworks display to herald in the new year.

"We will work closely with the police. We have already closed the roads to traffic (to facilitate celebrations) and have taken down posters calling for the public to attend the illegal rally," he said.

GEORGE TOWN: Two former executives of Koperasi Pelancongan (Kopel) Pulau Pinang claimed trial in the Sessions Court here to forming a subsidiary without prior approval from the Malaysia Co-operative Commission.

Yuslinov Ahmad, 46, who was then the treasurer, and the then chairman Ali Akbar Mohd Noor, 63, were separately charged with forming the subsidiary Kopel Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd on July 10, 2007, at the cooperative's premises in Jalan Kampung Kaka here without the commission's approval.

The offence under Section 19 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1993 carries a fine of not more than RM50,000 or four years' jail, or both, upon conviction.

Commission prosecution director Kamarulzaman Mohamad Buhari proposed bail at RM20,000 for each accused, saying that the duo did not turn up in court on Dec 19 when they wanted to register the case.

In pleading for a lower bail, counsel Rosli Ismail assured that his clients would always be present for the court proceedings, adding that he had checked with the court interpreters and police officers on Dec 19 but found no such case registered.

Rosli added that the prosecution should not have distributed details of the charge to the media on Dec 19 before the case had even begun.

Judge Zulhazmi Abdullah set bail at RM8,000 for Yuslinov and RM6,000 for Ali Akbar.

He fixed Feb 5 for mention, for the prosecution to apply for a joint trial, and ordered the accused to surrender their passports to the court.

A BOOK with the title Be Awesome is supposed to make you feel just a little bit awesome, even from just having picked it up and read the cover.

Sadly, Hadley Freeman's Be Awesome left me feeling confused and bemused instead, and nowhere near awesome.

In her introduction, Freeman talks about why people need to feel awesome, weaving in some social issues like feminism, fashion (or lack thereof) and a little on her background. What's meant as an introduction to a guide on becoming awesome instead sounds much more like the inner monologue of somebody nearing a psychotic break. Freeman rambles on without seeming to have a clear message.

"I pretend to be a newspaper columnist and fashion writer," she says, but "... 70 percent of my fashion articles have been written when I've been wearing, at best, vaguely coordinated pyjamas, T-shirt, leggings and Ugg boots ..."; maybe in a mistaken attempt to appeal to most of us ordinary, unglamorous women.

Instead, it has the opposite effect. Freeman comes off as trying too hard: trying too hard to relate, to be funny, and to inspire. What I was left with was a feeling of growing disappointment, and a lot less awesomeness than I started off with. And this is just the introduction.

To be fair, there were a few relevant points made in her introduction on feminism, and how its relevance is still questioned today, and she brings up the very valid argument that if racism is still relevant, why can't feminism be?

However, there were certain points in the rest of the book that by turns made me cringe and raised my temper. In fact, there were times when both happened within two pages.

For example, Freeman's "Top Ten Commandments for being a vegetarian". For someone who is a lifelong vegetarian, Freeman doesn't seem to think too highly of the rest of her ilk. Her second-most important commandment is for vegetarians not to talk about their poo. Because obviously that's what they all do – talk about their poo non-stop.

Another gem: Don't make a fuss if there are no vegetarian options. Even if you're invited to a dinner party, DON'T tell your host that you're vegetarian, unless they ask you. The reason? Well, they're already cooking for all these people, so don't give them the extra trouble.

While it's admirable that Freeman doesn't want to make more trouble, it makes no sense why she thinks this is a good idea. Wouldn't your host prefer to know your dietary restrictions? If you were lactose intolerant and every dish had cheese or cream, then, oh boy, you're in trouble! These ideas made it difficult for me to enjoy the good parts of her book, which can sometimes be found in the same section as the not-so-good.

Her 10-point guide to being a modern-day feminist is actually quite good. The same goes with some of her views on feminism. However, these points are either always very subjective, or barely researched, which is a shame because these are what gives the book that special "oomph".

Instead, she (again) meanders off into telling the reader what to do.

This tends to be a trend in her writing, with the good parts being completely overshadowed by Freeman's bossy attitude.

And that is a problem, because, while this is a non-fiction book and Freeman is perfectly within her rights to air her opinions, it feels like she's trying to force them down your throat instead of suggesting them.

Be Awesome has some pearls of wisdom, if you look very hard. Unfortunately, it isn't anywhere near awesome.

THE Limbang Rebellion in Borneo was the prelude to Malaysia's confrontation – or Konfrontasi, as it's more popularly known – with Indonesia and helped to convince Sarawakians of the wisdom of joining in the formation of Malaysia. Yet it is not mentioned in our school history textbooks and unless our families or our friends were directly affected, many of us know little about the weeklong uprising in December 1962. That's why Limbang Rebellion should be on your year-end list of books to read.

Sydney-based historian Eileen Chanin brings a very personal angle and touch to her tale.

Australian-born Richard "Dick" Morris was British Resident of Sarawak's Fifth Division when he and his wife Dorothy were taken hostage.

Rebel leader: Former police constable Salleh Sambas led the rebels in Limbang. — Images from Limbang Rebellion: 7 Days In December 1962

Chanin, who later became their daughter-in-law, had access to the couple's unpublished manuscripts and letters.

She interviewed many of the players – including the Royal Marines who came to the rescue – and delved into archives in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Britain.

In an extensive bibliography, she has meticulously listed all her reference material – right down to the date on which she accessed various websites.

Limbang Rebellion reads more like a thriller, drawing you into the lives of the people caught in the conflict.

Chanin sets the stage, pointing out that rebellion has had a long history in the region of Borneo, starting with the 1841 rebellion which British adventurer Sir James Brooke helped the Sultan of Brunei to suppress.

By 1962, Sarawak had passed through World War II and the Japanese Occupation. "Britain wanted out – but most Sarawakians wanted the status quo preserved," writes Chanin.

She traces the responses to the plan for the British territories of Borneo to form a new Federation of Malaysia, noting that "many in Sarawak were wary".

Abang Omar (centre) with his Red Cross 'workers', in their hastily assembled new uniforms, came to the rescue of the wounded and the hostages during the Limbang Rebellion.

And she notes that Britain's Colonial Office was "apprehensive about Indonesian moves in the Borneo region. It was expecting that the Indonesian Government would distract attention from serious domestic problems by launching 'claim' to neighbouring territory."

By Dec 6, although Dick had received reports about a possible uprising from Limbang and from Miri, he accepted the official opinion that there was no certainty of trouble.

"We agreed that the Police should be placed in a state of alert but that no further action should be taken."

But at 2am on Dec 8, the armed wing of the Brunei People's Party (which opposed the formation of Malaysia) launched coordinated attacks across Brunei, in Sarawak's Fifth Division and the western edge of North Borneo (now Sabah).

Chanin then picks up the pace with a blow-by-blow account of the rebel action, the experiences of the hostages and the rescue mission that succeeded even though the Royal Marines were vastly outnumbered.

She also recounts the bravery of many of the locals.

For example, Dorothy had earlier begun to revive the Limbang Group of the Red Cross, which had lapsed due to lack of support and funds.

She had held a first meeting, at which the business community promised building material and labour for a Red Cross headquarters.

A local headman and Limbang's postman, Abang Omar Abang Samaudin, offered to help and his daughter was appointed cadet officer.

When the rebellion broke out, Abang Omar and his daughter treated the wounds of both the revolutionaries and the police, and he told the rebels to send the bodies of the policemen who had been killed to the mosque for burial. That night, his family sewed Red Cross "uniforms" and the following day, he insisted that all civilian patients be released.

Then he met rebel leader Salleh Sambas and demanded permission to visit the prisoners under the rules of the World Red Cross conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war. The following year, Abang Omar was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. His story is just one of many woven through the account, making what happened 51 years ago come to life.

Limbang Rebellion: 7 Days In December 1962 is available at Kinokuniya Bookstores at Suria KLCC and other leading bookstores.

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TAIPEI: A giant yellow duck on display in a northern Taiwan port exploded Tuesday, just hours before it was expected to attract a big crowd to count down the new year.

The 18-metre-tall (59-feet) duck on show at Keelung burst around noon and deflated into a floating yellow disc, only 11 days after it went on display.

It was the second time that a giant inflatable duck - a bath toy replica created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman - had burst while on show in Taiwan.

"We want to apologise to the fans of the yellow rubber duck.... the weather is fine today and we haven't found the cause of the problem. We will carefully examine the duck to determine the cause," organiser Huang Jing-tai told reporters.

Organisers had planned to stay open past midnight Tuesday in anticipation of a large new year crowd.

The Central News Agency cited an eyewitness as saying the rubber bird might have fallen victim to eagles which scratched it with their claws.

Three Taiwanese cities exhibited their versions of the yellow duck in 2013. But all were forced temporarily to suspend the exhibit due to bad weather or damage.

Last month the duck on display in the northern county of Taoyuan became a high-profile victim of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which triggered a power outage that caused it to deflate when an air pump stopped working.

Powerful winds caused the duck's rear end to burst while it was being re-inflated. Organisers in Taoyuan had to borrow another duck commissioned by the Kaohsiung city government to continue the show.

The duck at Kaohsiung, which attracted four million visitors during a one-month display, was temporarily deflated and lifted ashore as a safety precaution when Typhoon Usagi pounded the island in September.

Since 2007 the original duck designed by Hofman - which is 16.5 metres tall - has travelled to 13 cities in nine countries, including Brazil, Australia and Hong Kong, on its journey around the world. -AFP

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court Tuesday ordered the arrest of owners of a garment factory where 111 workers were killed last year in the country's worst such fire, after police laid charges.

The court in Dhaka issued the warrants for Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Akter and four others over the blaze that gutted the Tazreen factory where workers stitched clothes for Western retailers including Walmart.

Senior judicial magistrate Wasim Sheikh gave the order after declaring all six "fugitives" for failing to appear in court over charges laid by police earlier this month against 13 people over the tragedy, a prosecutor said.

The magistrate formally accepted the charges against the 13 including the owners, factory managers and security guards, who all face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

"Dhaka's senior judicial magistrate Wasim Sheikh issued the warrants of arrest against the two fugitive owners ... and four other company officials for the Tazreen factory fire," prosecutor Anwarul Kabir told AFP.

"The owners and 11 others have been charged with arson, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death by negligence," Kabir said. Seven of those charged were in court or in custody.

The fire, the country's deadliest at a garment factory, highlighted appalling safety problems in the sector, a mainstay of the economy, where about four million workers toil for some of the lowest sector wages in the world.

The country suffered an even greater tragedy just months later in April when the Rana Plaza garment factory complex collapsed in Dhaka's outskirts, killing 1,135 people in one of the world's worst industrial disasters.

The arrest order signals a toughening stand by local authorities against influential garment manufacturers, who openly flout safety rules for Bangladesh's 4,500 garment factories, where deadly accidents are common.

Police last week said it was possibly the first time an owner has been charged over a fire in the sector, which accounts for up to 80 percent of the impoverished country's exports.

Delwar Hossain, who since the tragedy has been barred from leaving the country, has been accused of breaching construction rules including building unsafe and narrow staircases in the nine-storey building.

Hossain, who is the managing director of the factory and his wife the chairperson, could not be contacted for comment despite several calls to his mobile phone numbers.

Victims of the November 2012 fire, mostly women who were paid as little as $37 a month, found themselves overcome by smoke or were forced to jump from windows on upper floors, police have said.

Managers and security guards were charged over their insistence workers return to their duties even though smoke was billowing from the ground floor where the fire started, according to a police investigation report.

The factory, in the Ashulia industrial district, supplied clothes to a variety of international brands including US giant Walmart, Dutch retailer C&A and ENYCE, a label owned by US rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Some of the retailers have refused to compensate some 200 workers injured in the fire and families of workers killed, arguing that their orders to suppliers for garments were illegally diverted to the Tazreen factory.

Despite the charges and the arrest warrants, unions said it was unlikely the owners would face tough punishment, predicting that the case would drag on for years.

The industry is the world's second largest after China and factory owners themselves - many of whom are also lawmakers and owners of banks and insurers - wield great influence in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh pledged to clean up the industry after the Rana Plaza disaster and more than 100 top Western retailers have signed up to new safety agreements to allow greater scrutiny of their operations.

The government last month raised minimum wages for workers by 76 percent and launched inspections of factories in the wake of mounting criticism that authorities were failing to improve the sector.

The new minimum wage of $68 a month still makes Bangladesh one of the lowest paid garment sectors in the world, according to activists. -AFP

A NEW survey of 8,000 people living in Europe and the US – 1,000 from each country, also including Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Holland – found that an average of 72% of people set fitness goals. While nearly a third (29%) claims to hit their target most of the time, 5% always fail.

Across the board, 11% plan to do less exercise in the future. The survey, released on Dec 30, was commissioned by TomTom, maker of navigation products and GPS sportwatches.

Results showed that Americans lead the fitness league, exercising 135 days a year compared with a global average of 112, while Britons exercise an average of just 108 days a year. Italians exercise just 96 days a year, while the Dutch exercise 93 days a year.

Losing weight, a sense of accomplishment and how much fun an activity is were the biggest motivators to keep exercising for 75% of people across the study – while improving their looks and making sure they had the right equipment to train effectively also ranked highly.

Weight loss is the biggest motivator for women to exercise, spurring on 41% – but just 28% of men. Twice as many women (33%) worried about how they looked in certain clothes compared with men (16%). – AFP Relaxnews

TAIPEI: A giant yellow duck on display in a northern Taiwan port exploded Tuesday, just hours before it was expected to attract a big crowd to count down the new year.

The 18-metre-tall (59-feet) duck on show at Keelung burst around noon and deflated into a floating yellow disc, only 11 days after it went on display.

It was the second time that a giant inflatable duck - a bath toy replica created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman - had burst while on show in Taiwan.

"We want to apologise to the fans of the yellow rubber duck.... the weather is fine today and we haven't found the cause of the problem. We will carefully examine the duck to determine the cause," organiser Huang Jing-tai told reporters.

Organisers had planned to stay open past midnight Tuesday in anticipation of a large new year crowd.

The Central News Agency cited an eyewitness as saying the rubber bird might have fallen victim to eagles which scratched it with their claws.

Three Taiwanese cities exhibited their versions of the yellow duck in 2013. But all were forced temporarily to suspend the exhibit due to bad weather or damage.

Last month the duck on display in the northern county of Taoyuan became a high-profile victim of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which triggered a power outage that caused it to deflate when an air pump stopped working.

Powerful winds caused the duck's rear end to burst while it was being re-inflated. Organisers in Taoyuan had to borrow another duck commissioned by the Kaohsiung city government to continue the show.

The duck at Kaohsiung, which attracted four million visitors during a one-month display, was temporarily deflated and lifted ashore as a safety precaution when Typhoon Usagi pounded the island in September.

Since 2007 the original duck designed by Hofman - which is 16.5 metres tall - has travelled to 13 cities in nine countries, including Brazil, Australia and Hong Kong, on its journey around the world. -AFP

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court Tuesday ordered the arrest of owners of a garment factory where 111 workers were killed last year in the country's worst such fire, after police laid charges.

The court in Dhaka issued the warrants for Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Akter and four others over the blaze that gutted the Tazreen factory where workers stitched clothes for Western retailers including Walmart.

Senior judicial magistrate Wasim Sheikh gave the order after declaring all six "fugitives" for failing to appear in court over charges laid by police earlier this month against 13 people over the tragedy, a prosecutor said.

The magistrate formally accepted the charges against the 13 including the owners, factory managers and security guards, who all face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

"Dhaka's senior judicial magistrate Wasim Sheikh issued the warrants of arrest against the two fugitive owners ... and four other company officials for the Tazreen factory fire," prosecutor Anwarul Kabir told AFP.

"The owners and 11 others have been charged with arson, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death by negligence," Kabir said. Seven of those charged were in court or in custody.

The fire, the country's deadliest at a garment factory, highlighted appalling safety problems in the sector, a mainstay of the economy, where about four million workers toil for some of the lowest sector wages in the world.

The country suffered an even greater tragedy just months later in April when the Rana Plaza garment factory complex collapsed in Dhaka's outskirts, killing 1,135 people in one of the world's worst industrial disasters.

The arrest order signals a toughening stand by local authorities against influential garment manufacturers, who openly flout safety rules for Bangladesh's 4,500 garment factories, where deadly accidents are common.

Police last week said it was possibly the first time an owner has been charged over a fire in the sector, which accounts for up to 80 percent of the impoverished country's exports.

Delwar Hossain, who since the tragedy has been barred from leaving the country, has been accused of breaching construction rules including building unsafe and narrow staircases in the nine-storey building.

Hossain, who is the managing director of the factory and his wife the chairperson, could not be contacted for comment despite several calls to his mobile phone numbers.

Victims of the November 2012 fire, mostly women who were paid as little as $37 a month, found themselves overcome by smoke or were forced to jump from windows on upper floors, police have said.

Managers and security guards were charged over their insistence workers return to their duties even though smoke was billowing from the ground floor where the fire started, according to a police investigation report.

The factory, in the Ashulia industrial district, supplied clothes to a variety of international brands including US giant Walmart, Dutch retailer C&A and ENYCE, a label owned by US rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Some of the retailers have refused to compensate some 200 workers injured in the fire and families of workers killed, arguing that their orders to suppliers for garments were illegally diverted to the Tazreen factory.

Despite the charges and the arrest warrants, unions said it was unlikely the owners would face tough punishment, predicting that the case would drag on for years.

The industry is the world's second largest after China and factory owners themselves - many of whom are also lawmakers and owners of banks and insurers - wield great influence in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh pledged to clean up the industry after the Rana Plaza disaster and more than 100 top Western retailers have signed up to new safety agreements to allow greater scrutiny of their operations.

The government last month raised minimum wages for workers by 76 percent and launched inspections of factories in the wake of mounting criticism that authorities were failing to improve the sector.

The new minimum wage of $68 a month still makes Bangladesh one of the lowest paid garment sectors in the world, according to activists. -AFP

SINABUNG (Indonesia) (AFP) - More than 19,000 people have been displaced by a volcano in Indonesia that has been erupting for months and shot lava into the air nine times overnight, an official said Tuesday.

Mount Sinabung on the western island of Sumatra sent hot rocks and ash 7,000m (23,000 feet) in the air Monday night and Tuesday morning, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

"Mount Sinabung remains on the highest alert level and we have warned there should be no human activity within a five-kilometre (three-mile) radius of the crater," Nugroho said.

"On Monday night, 19,126 people had fled their homes, and we expect that number to rise," he said.

Police and soldiers were patrolling the danger zone to evacuate people who have chosen to stay in their homes, Nugroho said.

Mount Sinabung - one of dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia which straddles major tectonic fault lines, known as the Ring of Fire - erupted in September for the first time since 2010 and has been rumbling ever since.

In August, five people were killed and hundreds evacuated when a volcano on a tiny island in East Nusa Tenggara province erupted.

The country's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions in 2010.